ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gustavus men’s basketball team put together a season-high point total in a 98-79 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Macalester College Monday evening, improving to 8-5 overall and 6-2 during conference play.
The Gusties gave up a season-high 79 points while posting its highest scoring total, battling through the Scots’ aggressive full-court press. The Black and Gold shot a season-best 38-for-63 (60.3%) from the field and out-rebounded Macalester 40-30.
Four Gusties scored in double figures, led by a career performance from Jason Faul (Sr., Prior Lake, Minn.) and a double-double from Kelsey Thomas (Sr., Wiesbaden, Germany). Faul totaled a career-high 25 points and 12 of 13 field goals made, while Thomas added 21 and 11 rebounds. In addition, Riley Sharbono (Jr., Marshall, Minn.) tallied 15 points along with a career-high 11 from Brandon Snoberger (Jr., Rice, Minn.).
A layup from Jason Faul gave Gustavus a 35-21 lead with 7:50 remaining in the first half, the Gusties’ largest lead of the first 20 minutes. Macalester then cut into the Gustie lead on a 17-9 run and trailed 38-44 at the half. Gustavus shot 17-29 in the first half and 5-13 from beyond the arc.
The Scots continued to cut into the Gustie lead to open the second half, relying on the three-pointer and coming within one twice, last at 11:49 as two free throws put Macalester behind the visitors by a score of 63-64. However, Gustavus would go on to shoot 61.8 percent in the second half and ran away with the game in the back end of the second half, eventually gaining a 19-point lead twice. A Kelsey Thomas dunk put the seal on the victory as they scoreboard read 98-79 for the final minute and a half.
“There weren’t really any adjustments, I think we played well against their defense and we attacked the basket,” said Head Coach Mark Hanson. “It’s always good to have your experienced guys to lead the way and I thought we got good minutes from a lot of people. It’s good to get a win any place.”
Gustavus returns to action on Wednesday evening for another MIAC road matchup at Saint Mary’s University.